Grateful: Part II
by Edlestein
Summary: After their complicated breakup, Quinn changes her attitude, which not only worries her Glee Club Friends but also Will. While trying to understand her behaviour and to bring her old self back, Schuester realizes he can't let her go. P.S To understand this story you must read the first part which you can find on my profile :)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 **Hello everybody! I thank to those of you who are here to read the second part of my story. I just want to remind you, I don't have a Beta Reader & I am doing my best to improve my grammar skill, so I would appreciate your patience and to avoid mean comments. **

**I can't promise weekley updates, I just started University, moved to a new country and I am dealing with many loses. So I'll do my best to post as often as I can.**

 **Love,**

 **M.**

There were rumours about Quinn, so many, nobody knew what to believe. Some said she had blue hair, others said they saw her smoking in the park, and many others commented on how she was seen making out with older guys in public places. All the students from McKinely High were talking about it on the first day of school, and got quiet immediately as son as they thought she was around.

The glee kids were aware of every single rumour, actually they were the first ones to suspect that something was wrong with their friend. Finn expressed his concerns first ; he had texted Quinn a few times, just to know how was she doing after all what she'd been through, and he only got short answers, which wasn't very typical from her. He even suggested her to go out, but she refused to see him.

Mercedes had the same problem, she called Quinn a few times to ask her if she wanted to go out for a coffee or to do something, but the blonde's answers were always negative, usually she claimed she couldn't meet her because she already had plans. Later, Mercedes found out through other people, that those plans involved liquor and cigarettes. When she asked Kurt if he knew something about it, he decided to go directly to Quinn's house.

He knew she was still mad at him, but he couldn't help get worried about her, so he decided to risk himself to get punched in the face. After he rang the bell two times, an almost naked Quinn opened the door and told him to go away and how busy she was, then he heard a male voice calling her. Before he could ask any questions, she slammed the door on his face. When Kurt told this to Mercedes, she freaked out and reached for Santana and Brittany. Just after a few days, every member of the Glee Club expressed their concern for Quinn and tried to contact her, but it was almost impossible.

And now, today, at their first Glee Club meeting, it was the only thing they could talk about. As soon as Schuester came into the room, they began to try to tell him what was going on, but because everyone was talking at the same time, he couldn't understand what his students were trying to say.

"Guys…GUYS!" he yelled after a few seconds "Just please…one at the time"

"Have you heard about Quinn?" asked Mercedes directly.

Will and Kurt exchanged a short glimpse, both knew the answer, both knew that Quinn hadn't reached out for Schue in the last few weeks, and probably she wouldn't do it any time soon.

"I know she is not coming back to Glee…for a while, I hope" he said while walking to the board.

"Did she say why?" asked Finn, his voice showed certain concern "I know she…she had a few rough months, but…"

"No, she didn't say why" said Schuester, he was now wondering of how much Finn was aware of.

"It's just...have you heard what it's being said about her?" asked Rachel lowering her voice, as if the blonde could hear her.

"No, not really" Will had just heard a few teachers commenting on how radical did Quinn change over the summer, but while he was trying to listen, Emma and Beiste came to him and began to ask him about his summer.

His students began to look at each other, asking without saying any words, who should be the one to tell his teacher, that Quinn had lost her mind and was now on a bad road.

"She just changed" said Rachel after a few seconds of silence.

"Just?" said Santana abruptly "Mr. Schue…Quinn went nuts! Now she is walking around the hallway with pink hair, I am pretty sure I saw a tattoo on her lower back…yes, now she likes to show some skin, people has seen her at parks with older guys, drinking…Kurt even caught her at her place having sex with some random guy who probably sells her crack!"

Hearing those words felt for Will like a cold hearted punch on his stomach. Kurt could tell his mentor was trying to hide how hard it was hearing those things, he was sure a piece of his teacher's heart had just gotten broken, especially with the last part of Santana's sentence.

"To be clear, I don't think she is on crack, she seemed fine…well, I mean, sober" said Kurt trying to somehow comfort Schuester.

"Could you just please talk to her?" said Mercedes "She has been avoiding all of us, and I am pretty sure she can't avoid you because you are an authority, Quinn needs help."

Schuester sighed. Of course Quinn could avoid him, he had lost his whole authority the moment he asked her out, when they kissed for the first time, when he saw her naked…He wasn't an authority anymore. But he couldn't tell that to his Glee kids, they would not only tell Sue or Figgins about it, they would be so disappointed of him, they would hate him.

Everyone was waiting for an answer. He had no choice, he had to agree, he had to try to talk to her.

"I'll do it" he said "Not today, but I'll do it…now we don't have much time left, so…we'll start the next week, okay?"

Everyone stood up and began to leave the room, nobody left without saying a cheerful "Bye, ". When Will was about to leave the room, Finn came back, he seemed worried, and Schuester knew he would probably tell him something about Quinn. He really wanted to avoid that conversation, but he was sure it would look weird if he did.

"Can I talk to you for a second, Mr. Schue?" said Finn moving his feet nervously.

Will nodded and closed the door, so that nobody would hear or interrupt them. Finn took a seat in one of the chairs and the teacher decided to stay up and just lean over the piano.

"Is everything alright, Finn?" he asked.

"What if I kind of knew what is going on with Quinn?" Will felt something strange in his stomach, like emptiness…did Finn know about them? Did Kurt say something?

"What do you mean by "kind of"?" asked Schuester nervously.

"I mean…I think I know why is she acting like this and stuff" said Finn staring at the floor while playing with his fingers, he was obviously nervous "And I know she hasn't reached for help, but I know she needs it"

"Okay…uhm, does it have to do with drugs? Did someone…abuse from her?" Will knew he was a bad liar, and was very afraid of getting caught by Finn.

"No…no it's not that" said Fin crossing his arms "Mr. Schue…if I tell you what I know, you won't tell anyone right? You'll just sort of use it, when you talk to her"

"I can't promise anything, Finn. If it is something that is putting her life at risk, then I would have to tell someone" said Schuester, now it was clear to him, his student didn't know anything about his relationship to the blonde, which made things easier for him.

"She got an abortion" said Finn. "And she is underage, so I don't know if she told her mom, to get the consent or if she lied…I didn't dare to ask when I went with her…"

"Wait, stop" said Will, he wasn't aware of that part of the story, he always had thought that the day Quinn aborted the baby, she had been alone "You…you were with her?"

"Yes, I know I should have asked before just supporting what she did, but…I know the guilt is killing her"

"Did Quinn tell you she was pregnant?" asked Schuester raising an eyebrow, he didn't know if this changed how he felt about the situation.

"No…someone else told me, and I just decided to be with her. I felt like she needed a friend" somehow, that calmed down Will, and at the same time, he didn't know if he could keep trusting Kurt.

"I'll talk to her" said Schuester, he wasn't sure if he was lying or not, but he had to say he would do something about it.

"Thank you" replied Finn while staying up, he walked to the door, but stopped and looked at his teacher once again "You are not going to tell this to anyone, right?"

"Don't worry, Finn" Will winked at him, and the quarterback left the room feeling proud for helping his friend.

Will sat on one of the chairs, and began to think. He wasn't sure if talking to Quinn was the right thing to do, after all, probably one of the reasons she was behaving like that was their breakup, which meant, it was sort of his fault.

At the same time, knowing it was his fault, made him think he actually had to do something about it. Will felt he had broken her. Usually, when you break something you either try to fix it or you just throw it away, and this was not the exception. He could try to talk to her and see if there was something to fix or just let her go. After thinking about it for a few minutes, he went to Figgins office and asked his secretary for Quinn's schedule.

"Armina, could you please ask Mrs. Cullinane if I can get a few minutes with Quinn Fabray tomorrow at the 3rd period? It's kind of important"

Once Armina sent the email, Will thanked her and left the room. He was nervous, and afraid. There was a chance that Quinn wouldn't show up. He didn't know what scared him the most; knowing he would probably confront her or the slight chance of being stood up.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Will stared at his clock on the wall while moving his feet nervously. Quinn was supposed to arrive 4 minutes ago, and until now neither her teacher nor Armina had called or wrote him, to tell him that the teenager wouldn't come. As soon as the clock marked that Quinn was delayed by 5 minutes, he knew she wouldn't show up.

It was then, when he decided to leave his office and do something else, but as soon as he left his chair the door got opened. There she was, just like Santana described her; pink her, a piercing on her nose and some revelling clothes.

"Mrs. Pearson told me you needed to talk to me" she said in a tone of voice which she had never used with him, which made Will feel like he was now hated by her.

"Yes, please take a seat"

Quinn bluffed and leant on the wall while staring at him with a look that showed she wasn't happy about being there and how she didn't respect him enough to do what he said.

"I know why you want to talk to me" she said crossing her arms.

"You do?"

"I am not going back, " that sentence hurt Will, he wasn't used anymore to be called by her like that when they were on an empty room "I know you need a few new members to compete at sectionals, and you'll have to find someone else…so, can I go now? I don't want to keep wasting our time"

"I don't care if you come back or not…I just want to be sure that you are fine"

"I've never felt so great" she said while turning her back to him. "Have a nice life"

"Quinn…QUINN FABRAY" he yelled as soon as she saw her step of the room "Come in here, and close the door"

"I don't even think that's appropriate, you know what people could think about us?" she said laughing.

"Shut. The. Door…and take a seat" The blonde rolled her eyes and obeyed her teacher. She didn't even look at him in the eyes, she would only stare at the floor while playing with her blouse, waiting for him to say something. "You dropped Glee Club and my Spanish class"

"Okay, I'll stop pretending for a second that all what we lived last year didn't happen" she said making eye contact with him for the first time in those few minutes "You said you never wanted to see me again, I am just making things easier for you"

Will took a deep breath. What was he supposed to say? It didn't matter what Quinn did, it would never be easy to forget all what they had been through, he loved her or at least he had loved her for a long time, and maybe now he wasn't very sure if he could forgive her, but he was willing to try it. He just wanted to leave everything behind.

"Everyone at Glee Club asked me to talk to you…they are concerned"

"They are not concerned, they just…"

"Quinn, they have seen you smoking, drinking at the park, flirting with older guys, Kurt even saw you with a man at your place…."

"Just a few months ago you didn't seem to care if I dated older guys" she said quite annoyed "And I believe I can have sex with whoever I want to"

"It's not that, Quinn…it's how you put yourself in danger"

"Of what? Lung cancer? Liver failure? STD's?" she said raising her eyebrow. Quinn stood up, and Schuester knew, she had had enough "I am aware of the risks"

"Why are you doing this?" Will asked "I know, you feel guilty, and maybe this is your way to grieve, and if it is…you'll regret it once the pain is gone"

"I don't think the guilt will go away anytime soon" she said while walking towards the door.

Will got closer to her and took her hand, hoping she could stay a few more minutes. She was finally talking, they both were having a mature dialogue and maybe things could get solved, Quinn didn't even complain about being so close to him.

"You could have told me" he whispered.

"I was afraid" she said holding her tears "I am not ready, William, I can't just become a mother. It's a huge responsibility, and God knows I would have messed up Beth as much as that child"

"I believe you would have been a good mother, Quinn….but I do agree with you, you are not ready, you are young and you deserve to live a life according to your age, not mine" he was aware of what his words meant, and so was she.

Quinn kissed him on the lips without thinking it twice, without hesitation. She was sure about her feelings, she had no doubts about what she wanted. She wasn't ready to get married or have children, but she did want to keep sleeping right next to him, to kiss him, to be happy…

As soon as she felt how he kissed her back, a tiny ray of happiness came into her mind, the last few months she had been torturing herself with guilt, reminding herself how she was such a bad person and how Schuester didn't deserve her, sometimes she wanted to go back in time and change the moment she decided to give Beth away.

Will was now kissing her neck, it was clear how they had missed each other. She kissed him on the lips, and he began to lead her to the desk, she hopped on in it and put her arms around his neck, they kept kissing each other; on the lips, on the neck, on their shoulders…

Quinn moved her hands slowly from his shoulder till the zipper of his pants, but as soon as Will felt how she was trying to unzip it, he walked away from her, and looked at her carefully. That wasn't the woman he loved a few months ago, the one he had feelings for did not only have blonde hair and prettier clothes, she was also happier, and her eyes didn't show sadness, just hope and happiness.

She pulled him towards her by putting her arms around his neck and kissed him one more time, Will didn't know if he should stop her or just keep going. She decided to take his vest off and to unbutton his shirt instead of unzipping his pants, she feared she was going faster than what he wanted. Schuester didn't complain when the pink haired did that, and instead he just put his hands under her shirt and touched her breasts carefully.

He was afraid of doing something wrong. Quinn knew how insecure he was feeling, and took her blouse off to show him everything was fine, she knew he had understood as soon as she felt how he began to kiss her neck desperately, and how his lips would descend till her abdomen. Suddenly he stopped.

"Did you hear that?"

"What?" she asked confused. They both stayed quiet waiting for whatever Will had heard. Just a few seconds later they both heard clearly knock on the door.

"Mr. Schuester? Are you still there? Figgins also asked me to talk to Quinn" it was Emma.

Both looked at each other, they didn't know what was better, stay quiet and pretend nobody was there or answer they needed a few more seconds alone. As soon as Quinn put her blouse on again, Schue looked for his vest while fixing his shirt.

"Can you give us a few seconds?" said William loudly.

"Uhm sure..." replied a confused Emma.

"Did you lock the door?" whispered the Spanish teacher while putting his vest back on. She shook her head and Will noticed a hickey was beginning to show on her neck.

Both already looked as if nothing had happened between them. She took a seat and so did he, they stared at each other once again, confirming with the look in their eyes that Emma could already come in. As soon as William said a loud "Come in", Emma didn't hesitate in opening the door quickly.

"I already talked to Mr. Schue" said Quinn while standing up "And I already left things quite clear; I am fine, it's my life, and…." She took a deep breath and looked at her former Spanish teacher "I am not going back to Glee Club"

The blonde left the room without giving the redhead a chance to speak, which left her shook. Will meanwhile, was trying to understand what had happened, just a few minutes ago they were getting their clothes off of each other. What did all that mean?

"Was that a hickey on her neck?" said Emma quite shocked.

"I didn't see anything" replied Will. "Is Figgins also concerned about her?"

"She's been skipping class, and she got caught smoking on the football field…What happened to her? She was such a pretty girl, she seemed fine after giving her baby away…" said Emma, she seemed quite confused.

 _I happened_ thought Will.

"Maybe I should talk to her again, I believe I understand what is going on" he said trying to persuade Emma to leave Quinn alone.

"Are you sure?" she said raising an eyebrow. Will nodded. "Okay…you've got one week to figure out what is going on with her. See you at lunch"

Will smiled slightly at Emma, and as soon as she left he sighed loudly. He was trying to understand what had happened. Did it mean he actually forgave her? Did Quinn still have feelings for him or it had been just a moment of lust? What happened a few seconds ago left Will with more questions than answers, but he was completely sure about something: he had to talk again to Quinn.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 **Hi! I am sorry for taking so long. I had exams and then vacations. I travelled to Spain and didn't bring anything to write or update.**

 **I know it's kind of short...but I still hope you like it.**

 **Love,**

 **M.**

William was speechless. He had never imagined there would be a day in which he would reject someone who wanted to join Glee Club…but what was he supposed to say to the girl who had just sang in front of them and left them with a headache?

"Wow…Sugar that was…"he began.

"We'll keep in touch" interrupted Rachel with a big fake smile on her lips.

Sugar left the room without even looking at them twice. As soon as they were sure she couldn't listen to them, they began to comment how awful did the rich girl sing.

"Guys, I know she was a little rough, but we have always had the policy that anyone who tries out gets in…" Will said those words hoping he could convince himself that maybe, somehow, he could ignore that small part of him who was telling him to not accept Sugar.

"We need to win nationals, and I am sorry for saying this but..."began Artie.

"But if Sugar joins our team, we are sure we won't make it" interrupted Mercedes.

"She sucks" added Brittany while shrugging her shoulders as if she wasn't saying something mean.

All Will could think of the rest of the day was how was he supposed to tell Sugar she couldn't join them, and somehow he was grateful about it, it helped him to not think about the whole Quinn situation.

During lunch he discussed Sugar's audition with Beiste, hoping to get a good advice. But all he heard was exactly the opposite of what he was expecting to hear, and that's how he knew he didn't have a choice: He had to tell Sugar she was out.

"How do I say it nicely? You know…without hurting her feelings?"

"Whose feelings?" asked Emma while taking a seat.

Beiste explained everything to the counsellor so that Will didn't have to repeat the whole story, both women began to discuss the topic, but he got distracted as soon as he saw through the window someone with pink hair walking by. He was sure it was Quinn, not many in school dyed their hair like that.

He had promised himself to wait a few days before talking to her, he needed to think what to say. But it was so hard for him to resist, all he wanted to do was run towards Quinn and ask her if what it happened in his office meant something for her as well, because he was willing to try to move on and to accept she was younger than him, which was the main cause of the whole disaster.

"…she got suspended" heard William, he looked at Emma immediately, he was almost sure she was talking about Quinn.

"Suspended? The first week isn't over yet" said Beiste, who seemed shook.

"Figgins believes that way she'll learn and will be the same old Quinn" replied Emma. Will stood up abruptly, earning confused looks from almost every teacher at the lounge "What is it?"

"I…gotta…I have to go" he said while rushing to the cafeteria.

He wasn't going to wait, not if Quinn was beginning to ruin her academic life, if she kept behaving like that she would get in trouble and probably she wouldn't be able to find a proper college in the next few months. Will went out to the schoolyard, where his glee kids were performing alongside someone he was sure he had seen before, he smiled at them and kept looking for Quinn. As soon as he recognized her, he ran towards her and grabbed her from her arm, she complained but didn't try to get away from him, which he took as a good sign.

"You got suspended?" he asked raising his eyebrow. She laughed, he could smell the alcohol in her breath "Are you drunk?"

"I was" she said with a proud smile.

"We need to talk…"

"About what?" she asked quiet upset. "What we did in your office, was a mistake, we both know it"

"You started it…" he insisted. "And I know something is wrong with you, you are not fine, Quinn. What is it?"

"Fire" she said. Will got confused as soon as he heard those words, she pointed something behind him with her finger "Fire"

Mr. Schue looked at what Quinn was pointing, one of his purple pianos was on fire, and everyone around were screaming and running, he left her, he didn't have a choice, he had to help the rest of the students. While he was keeping the kids away and trying to turn off the fire, one of the cheerios tried to help him, and she told him how guilty she felt about doing this to a piano.

"What?" he asked shocked.

"I…Sue told us to do it, so…Santana planned everything and…"

"Santana?" he interrupted, the girl nodded and Will rolled his eyes with anger. He had never felt so mad and betrayed by a student.

Once the fire was gone, he asked all his Glee kids to meet him at the choir room immediately. He was the last one to arrive, he had to stay and keep helping, talk to Figgins, to the fireman who had been called…after all it was his piano.

His kids were complaining, not only about the piano, but about how Blaine joining meant many of them wouldn't be able to get solos, how all the spotlight would be now only for Rachel, Finn and him. Will was about to become a headache, this week had been a nightmare and his students had begun to complain more and more every day.

"Santana, you need to leave" he said loudly. Everyone stopped talking "It was you and your cheerios who set the fire"

"Sue made me do it" she said standing up, ready to begin a fight.

"Brittany didn't do it"

"Well…yeah, I was gonna help, but I am a water sign…so…"

"You are banned from Glee" he interrupted. "Don't come back unless you can be as loyal to this club as the rest of the people in this room"

Will closed his eyes as soon as he said that, he was hoping she would apologize, because if she left, he would need to find not only 3 replacements, but 4. When she left without hesitating her decision and without looking back at her friends, Will knew he was screwed.

Everyone was shocked, they couldn't believe Schuester was capable of kicking somebody out of the Glee Club, especially if they were in the need of new members. Somehow they were aware something had changed in his teacher since last year, and they were afraid he would become bitter.

"I said it before, and I'll say it again, if we want to win nationals, we need to be united" he said with a calmer tone of voice and giving them a smile "So…let's talk about the musical show for this year. I was thinking about West Side Story"

"It happens to have a lead role that showcases my talent and essence perfectly: Maria." Said Rachel. Will tried not to roll his eyes, he knew that comment would begin another argument between the kids, and he was not in the mood to deal with that.

But as soon Mercedes replied to Rachel's comment, which led to another fight he just asked them to go home and rest. He left the room and looked for Quinn on the football field, he was hoping to find her and finish their conversation, but then he remembered, she had just gotten suspended, which meant, he wouldn't see her till probably next week.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"You still make a mean cup of coffee?" Will knew that voice, as soon as he turned around he saw Shelby which surprised him. Both hugged each other while he asked what was she doing there "It's the teachers' lounge, isn't it? It's where all the teachers hang out. Yeah I'm a teacher here now. Well, part-time. You ever hear of this guy named Al Motta?"

"Yes…" he couldn't help but think how Shelby talked as much and as fast as sometimes Rachel did.

"He wants me to coach his daughter. They actually sent a headhunter to track me down in New York. Apparently I am the best show choir director money can buy." She said proudly, but as soon as she noticed certain concern on Will's face, she felt bad for telling the last part "Don't worry, I'm not going to poach any of your kids"

Will smiled at her, truth was, he wasn't really worried about Shelby stealing his kids, he was sure they would stay loyal to him, but he was indeed concerned about three of them: Rachel, Puck and, obviously Quinn. How would they react to Shelby being there? After all, she played an important role in their lives.

"I am just wondering how Rachel will feel about you being around here" he said while looking at his cup of coffee.

"I am planning on reaching out to her, and to Puck and Quinn" her voice kind of cracked, which showed how nervous she felt about doing it. "Do you know when could I…talk to them?"

"Well, you can surely find Rachel and Puck during the breaks, and feel free to talk to Puck during one of my Spanish lessons" he said while trying to find his schedule. As soon as he found it, he looked at the lessons of that week "Tomorrow I have Spanish with him…third period, if you are free"

"Thanks. But I would like to meet Puck and Quinn together, is she also in your Spanish class?"

Schuester didn't know how to tell Shelby about Quinn, he had to obviously warn her about how much she had changed, and at the same time he couldn't show his feelings while talking about it.

"There's something you should to know"

"Oh my God…did she die?" she said covering her mouth with one of her hands.

"What? No!"

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

It was already Wednesday, which meant Quinn was already back from her suspension. She had gotten a text from Puck, in which he asked her to meet him at the English classroom on the second floor. He waited for her a few minutes, and as soon as he saw her, he tried not to say anything about her looks, after all, it was the first time he saw her after the summer.

"What do you want?" she asked "The last time we talked…"

"You had blonde hair" he said trying to be funny and at the same time trying to point out the elephant in the room.

"Haha good joke" replied Quinn rolling her eyes. She began to walk towards the door, she wasn't willing to hear another talk about how much she had changed.

As soon as the door got opened, she stopped walking while she felt how her heart was skipping a beat. There was Shelby, someone who she never thought would see face to face again.

The teacher was shocked, even though Will had warned her about how much Quinn had changed, she couldn't really picture her with pink hair and revelling clothes, and now not even her eyes could believe what she was seeing.

"You are back" said Quinn to break the silence.

"Thought I'd do it all, the whole working mother thing. But when I was in rehearsal, even performing, I couldn't stop thinking about Beth. How I could miss her milestones, you know? Her first steps, first words first arabesque…"

"I get it" interrupted Quinn feeling a knot on her throat, seeing Shelby and hearing her talk about Beth didn't help her at all to feel better.

Shelby looked at the floor nervously, she didn't expect this to be so hard, she had prepared this speech hoping to not get interrupted and at the end of it, just getting a "thank you" and maybe a hug from both of them. But her audience was being too rough on her, or at least half of it.

"Part of me is-is back here because-because I want you to get to know Beth. I want you to be a part of her life" Shelby said with a cracked voice. She wanted to actually say more, but the cold stare she was getting from Quinn, made her change her mind and just go straight to the point.

Those words lighted up Quinn's eyes for the first time in months, and her heartbeat got faster. She had a chance to make things better, to make things right.

"When do I get to see her?" she asked smiling, she didn't have to fake this time, she was actually happy.

"Are you okay?" asked Shelby, she had tried not to ask because Will had told her he was dealing with the situation, but she couldn't contain herself anymore, she needed answers, to know what was going on with her. "What's going on with you? Are you even in Glee anymore?"

Quinn rolled her eyes, she was done with all the questions. Why did everybody care so much about how she had changed? Didn't people respect privacy anymore? And why did Shelby care if she was still in Glee? That wasn't a factor that determined if she was doing fine or not.

"Can I or can I not see her?" she asked raising her eyebrow. Shelby sighed.

"I want you to be a part of Beth's life. But not like this. If you're really serious about Beth, clean up your act" replied the teacher crossing her arms under her chest.

Puck stared at Quinn directly in the eyes, he didn't need to say anything, Quinn knew he was begging her to change back to the girl she used to be. She just rolled her eyes and left the room, she had to clear her mind and think things through.

At the next break, Shelby went to the teachers' lounge, hoping to see Will and tell him everything, she needed to let off steam by talking to someone she trusted. And the only nice person she knew at McKinley was him. She found him talking to Beiste and Emma, at first she was kind of afraid of interrupting them, but she really needed to talk to someone.

"Hi" she said nervously.

"Oh, hi ….guys this is Shelby Corcoran" he said smiling at her "This two are Emma Pillsbury and Shannon Beiste"

"Nice to meet you" replied the new teacher "Uhm, William, can we…can we talk?"

"Sure" he said standing up.

Both left the teachers' lounge and walked to Shelby's classroom, there she closed the door and sat on the piano chair, she took a deep breath, it had been a rough day, first the small talk with Rachel, then Puck and Quinn…she didn't even know where to start.

"I talked to them, the three of them" she said.

"How did it go?" he asked leaning against the wall.

Shelby began to tell him what happened between her and Rachel, and even though he was listening and telling her how everything was going to be alright all he wanted to hear was how did all went with Quinn and Puck, he was just hoping to hear something good about Quinn.

"And Quinn…I know you warned me but…Oh my God, what happened to her?" she said covering her face with her hands "Do you know if she is on drugs?"

"Hopefully not"

"I asked her if she was still on Glee…"

"Why did you do that?" he asked trying not to sound anxious. Now she was probably going to think he had sent Shelby to talk to her.

"Because I feel Glee Club could help her, all her true friends are there, I mean…you told me that. And maybe if she comes back to you, she'll…she'll get better" said Shelby taking a deep breath "I really think she should take part of Beth's life, but not like that"

Will knew how much good it would make Quinn to get to have some time with her daughter, it would help her to deal with the guilt she was feeling. Shelby could tell her friend was thinking about something, which made her feel certain hope.

"Don't talk to her again, let me handle this" said Schuester walking towards her, he gave her a hug and reassured her one more time that everything was going to be fine.

She thanked him for his help, and at the same time she was beginning to have a hunch about Will and Quinn, something didn't seem right. She could tell how he always became more interested in the conversation as soon as she mentioned Beth's mother and his eyes would always light up whenever her name came up.

Will walked towards the door and smiled at her one more time. She smiled back, trying not to ask anything, she knew it wasn't the right time to let him know her suspicions.

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It was going to be his last attempt, if after this conversation Quinn didn't decide to change her attitude he would give up and let Figgins, Shelby and Emma handle it. After all, he was on his right to let her go if things didn't work out the way they should.

As soon as he heard a knock on the door, he felt how his stomach shrank. Will cleared his throat and fixed his tie one last time.

"Come in" he said trying to not show with his voice how nervous he felt.

The door got opened violently, there she was. Quinn's expression showed how annoyed she was, he didn't blame her, over the past few days many teachers and some of her friends had talked to her expressing their worries.

"Quinn…"

"No, listen to me" she said slamming the door behind her "I am done…DONE! All of you need to move on and accept that the old Quinn is gone. Joining your stupid Glee Club ruined my life and I am never coming back to it, ever. Call me one more time to your office and I swear I'll tell Figgins we made out on your desk"

"Wait!" yelled Will a soon as Quinn turned around "You know, there's only one person in this world that you care about and that's yourself…"

"Oh really?" she replied rolling her eyes.

"I AM NOT FINISHED" screamed Will "You're not a little girl anymore, Quinn…"

"Oh, I think we established that before…"

"Do NOT interrupt me" said Will closing his eyes and forming a fist with his right hand, he was mad, and he couldn't hide it anymore. "How long do you plan on playing the victim card? Since day one, you've done nothing but sabotage the same Glee Club that has been there for you over and over again. When you got pregnant, when your parents kicked you out, Mercedes even let you live at her house. And I don't recall ever hearing so much as a thank you"

A tear streamed down Quinn's face. She had thanked each of them, maybe not in front of him, maybe not enough, but she had thanked them.

"Last year all I did was thank each of you. I even invited you to have dinner…and now here we are" she said crossing her arms "In fact, I was wrong, it wasn't the Glee Club what ruined my life, it was that stupid dinner"

"No, Quinn. You brought this to yourself…the decisions we made together and the ones you made on your own have consequences, and you need to accept them. So I have one last thing to tell you: Grow up."

Quinn was trying not to cry, while Will just wanted to calm himself. She left his office, without saying another word.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Everyone who stayed a little bit longer to improve their dance moves could tell something was wrong with their teacher, he didn't seem very interested in their moves, and if he did correct them it looked like he didn't have enough energy.

When they heard the door from the auditorium getting closed, everyone stopped and looked surprised as soon as they noticed who had just came in: A blonde Quinn Fabray wearing one of her usual pretty dresses. Will could feel how his heart had just skipped a beat, there she was, the woman he had fallen in love in the first place, and not the train wreck he had seen yesterday.

"Can I help you, Quinn?" he said once she was in front of them, she was smiling and one could tell she was kind of ashamed.

"I heard this was for people who needed a little help with their dance moves and want to win Nationals."

"That's right."

"So, I'm a little rusty. And…I was wondering if I could join in" she said while staring at the floor. Quinn was aware that she had messed things up with him, and was already expecting a negative answer.

"Welcome back" he said after a few seconds of silence.

Finn helped Quinn to get on the stage and as soon as she was there, she got surrounded by each member of the Glee Club who was there. Not everyone gave her a hug, but each of them told her how happy they were to see her back.

"Enough, enough…"said Will after a few seconds. "Booty camp…line it up"

Will seemed more energetic this time, but he was still acting a little weird. Quinn could feel how he was avoiding to look at her, how when he had to correct her posture he didn't place his hands on her like he did it with the rest. Besides her, Kurt was the only one who was aware of that.

After half an hour, the class was over and everyone was getting ready to go home. Mercedes had suggested to go to Breadstix to celebrate the blondes return, Quinn politely declined and sat on the piano, hoping they wouldn't ask her why she didn't want to go. She sat there until the last persons there were her and Will.

He knew she would try to talk to him, probably she would tell him why she decided to go back to be herself or how her return to Glee Club didn't mean they would get a second chance to be together. Quinn walked towards him, hoping he wouldn't walk away from her.

"I was wondering if we could talk" she said while playing with her fingers and moving her feet nervously "I promise I won't yell at you, I won't interrupt you and I will listen…I understand if you don't want to but…"

"I would love to talk" he said giving her his usual smile.

"I just think it's kind of risky if we do it here" replied Quinn while smiling at him back "So, maybe, you would like to get a coffee? Or come to my place? My mom is out of town so…"

"A coffee sounds good"

"Friday, after school?" she said raising her eyebrow.

"I finish early on Fridays, so should we meet there?"

Both seemed like two twelve year olds who were about to have their first date. They were nervous and didn't know what was right or wrong in this situation, they also felt a mix of excitement and fear, both knew there was a chance of things going terribly wrong.

"Yeah, just text me where you are and I'll meet you there"

"Okay" he said putting a jacket on "So, see you on Friday?"

"See you on Friday"

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Will was eating his lunch at the teachers' lounge, because of the new schedules, he now had to eat on his own on Fridays. He got surprised when he saw Shelby and Emma coming in, both were smiling and took immediately a seat right next to him.

"How did you do it?" said Emma without losing her big smile.

"How did I do what?" he asked quite confused.

"Quinn" said Shelby observing his friend carefully, she wanted to see how he reacted. "We just talked to her"

"Oh, I didn't do anything" he said while letting out a fake laugh.

"But she said, she talked to you" said Emma while taking out her lunch. Shelby didn't take her eyes off of him and Will was beginning to notice.

"Well…last week I decided to try one last time to bring some sense into her and apparently it worked" he replied trying to hide his excitement.

"Whatever you said, it worked" said Shelby giving him a hug "Thank you"

Schuester nodded, he didn't know what to say. It was obvious Shelby suspected something and he was sure, she wouldn't keep his secret silent like Holly.

Before Shelby could ask something else about Quinn, Emma began to talk about the auditions for West Side Story, she wanted some advice from both teachers. Will felt relived for the change of subject and began to talk as fast as he could, once in a while Shelby would add something. She even offered to help with the costumes and choreographies.

The rest of the day he avoided Shelby and Quinn, he was beginning to be afraid of people knowing. He wanted Quinn to have a chance to get into a good college, and if people found out about them, that chance would be ruined, she would be labelled as the teacher's pet or something worse. On Friday he had to tell her that, he had to warn her about Shelby.

He left school as soon as he finished his last lesson, he didn't want to find Shelby in the hallway or at the teachers' lounge, so he just left to the coffee shop that was closer to his place. There, he texted Quinn letting her know he would wait for her. He knew that no matter what she wanted to talk about, he had to mention Shelby's suspicions and ask her if she was going to babysit Beth alone.

After waiting for half an hour, he finally saw her coming in. Quinn looked gorgeous, she was wearing one of her usual flower dresses, her hair up in a bun, pink lipstick and the necklace he had given her last Christmas.

"I am sorry for taking so long" she said while taking a seat.

"I told you I finish early on Fridays, so don't worry…I actually thought you would come later" Will packed away the book he was reading and offered Quinn the menu "Would you like to eat something?"

"No, I don't want to take much time away from you" replied Quinn.

They were interrupted by a waitress who asked the blonde if she would like to drink something, once she finished ordering, both stayed quiet, they didn't know how to start the conversation. Quinn bit her lip, last night she had planned all what she wanted to say, but now all what she had rehearsed got erased from her memory.

"I am sorry" she said looking down "For all what I did, for all what I said…"

"I just would like to know what happened to you" he said showing his concern.

"I actually don't know or at least, I don't know how to explain it" replied Quinn while she was getting her tea served "I didn't like who I was…who I had become and I thought, maybe if I changed, I would stop hating myself for what I did"

Will putted his hand on Quinn's, but she moved it away immediately. It was impossible for her to not feel butterflies in her stomach each time she saw him and when he touched her, all she could feel was electricity traveling through her spine. She knew she had to avoid feeling those things, that way it would be easier to get away from Schue and allow him to find someone else, someone better than her.

"Can we please talk about _that_?" asked Will after taking a deep breath. The blonde nodded, she saw that conversation coming. "I have so many questions and I don't even know where to start"

"I found out because I was a few days late and the smell of banana bread was unbearable for me. It was the day I told you had a stomach flu and you insisted in bringing me chicken soup, but I refused because I had my doctor appointment that afternoon" said Quinn as fast as she could.

"Did you tell someone that day or did you wait?" he had questions, so many questions.

"I called Kurt, he actually skipped the last two lessons to be with me" said Quinn. "After some weeks it was confirmed I was pregnant and just a few days later I…I got the abortion" her voice was breaking by the end of the sentence. "Kurt was against it, that's why I went alone to the doctor for the procedure. But before the doctor came, Finn showed up"

"I know" mumbled Will. Quinn's eyes stopped staring down and were now focused on him, she wa surprised "Last week he came to me…he was worried about you and assumed that all you behaviour was because of the guilt you felt for doing _this_ "

"I never told him the baby was yours" she said immediately, she didn't want Will to get worried about their secret being out.

"I know you didn't" Both stayed quiet, Quinn knew what his next question would be, and she wasn't ready to give him an answer "It just bothers me that you…didn't tell me. I mean, Finn and Kurt knew and…"

"I was afraid" she said holding her tears back "I knew you would have asked me to have the baby and then, we would have gotten into trouble and I wasn't ready to be a mom. I would have had to quit school and college and I would have gotten stuck in Lima. So I decided to not ruin our lives…well, my life"

Will nodded. Now he could understand so many things. He now understood why she had asked him about having kids, why she avoided to have sex with him for a while, why she had become so close to Finn at the end of last school's year, why she had had a fight with Kurt after prom.

"I know you won't believe me…but I would have supported your decision…" he could feel a knot on his throat.

" Truth is, William, we really don't know what would have been your reaction" she interrupted "That's why it was wrong doing everything behind your back."

Schuester tried one more time to reach her hand, but he didn't succeed. Quinn was really doing her best to keep her emotions calm.

"I love you" he said after a few seconds of silence. Quinn sighed and frowned, as soon as Will noticed this, he laughed nervously "Is it so bad for you to know I have feelings for you?"

"It's not that" she replied. She had to think carefully about what she was going to say next "Will…this, us, is not right. We know it. You deserve someone who can give you what I can't, someone with whom you can go to the movies and hold her hand without being afraid of getting caught…"

"But I want you"

"And I want you, Will. But I know you deserve better" she said holding her tears back.

"And what about you?" he said raising his eyebrows.

"You were too good for me" she replied without looking at him. "You don't have to worry about me, you should focus on yourself"

Both stayed quiet for a couple of seconds. Will still had a question, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer, he was sure how the answer would influence the way he saw Quinn, and was afraid of looking at her like a liar.

Will decided it wasn't the right moment to ask, so he just decided to ask something else, something he had in his mind since he had seen her walk into the auditorium with her hair dyed blonde and her pretty dress.

"Can I ask you for something?" asked William.

"After what I did, you can ask for anything" said the blonde with a nervous laugh.

"I want a last date with you" he replied after taking a deep breath.

Quinn couldn't help but laugh, she laughed so loud the people around them looked at them wondering what was so funny. Schuester stayed quiet and looked at the floor, waiting for her to stop laughing, hoping she wouldn't reject him.

"Didn't you just hear what I said?" she asked raising her eyebrow "You deserve better, you should hate me for what I did…."

"But I don't hate you, I don't want better…I want you" he said trying to be taken seriously "I want you, Quinn Fabray. I don't care about your flaws or your mistakes…I just, want a last date with you"

"A _last_ date?" she asked looking at him directly in the eye.

"Well…let's just say a date" Schuester said smiling. He knew Quinn was about to say yes, he already knew her very well.

Q stood up and looked at him trying to hide her smile. She couldn't believe how he could still love her after all what they had lived together, after all the lies and mistakes…. he still loved her.

"I am free next week"

"I'll let you know" he replied with a big smile on his face. "Uhm, Quinn?"

"Yeah?" she replied turning back at him.

"I should warn you about something"


End file.
